£30,000 repair bill for missed dry rot

ELEANOR Yearwood says the Home Report she received when buying her home in Alyth, near Perth in central Scotland, was useless to her.

In February this year, just a few months after moving into the property, she found out that the walls were riddled with dry rot – a fungal decay that destroys wood.

But it was not picked up in the survey element of the Home Report and Eleanor, 55, has recently had to pay a £30,000 repair bill.

‘I was told the dry rot had been there for some time, maybe ten or 12 years. It’s like a cancer in the house,’ says Eleanor, a self-employed business consultant.

After receiving the report, Eleanor followed its advice and hired a specialist to investigate for woodworm, but says there was no mention of dry rot and she was led to believe all was fine.

She adds: ‘Had I not been led into a false sense of security with the Home Report I would have had a full structural survey.

‘And looking back at the report now, I can see the number of get-out clauses it has.’

Anyone who reckons their surveyor failed to spot serious and obvious problems in a home before they bought it can take their case to the Property Ombudsman.

Complaints must first be directed to the surveyor, with eight weeks allowed for a response. After this time the Ombudsman can step in to provide a resolution.

Visit the website at ombudsman-services.org/ property or call 0330 440 1634 for more information about the process.